This is the experience of sleeping in an Ice Hotel, opinions and prices

One of the most exclusive and curious experiences that awaited me in the recent trip to northern norway rd sleep in an ice hotel.

You imagine what is an ice hotel like?and how can you sleep in it without “freezing”?

I lived this experience in Kirkenes Snowhotel, small town located next to the border with Russia, during my last trip to northern norway.

Indeed, it is a truly exclusive experience Well, as far as I was able to find out, until now in the whole world only about 50.000 people have slept in a ice Hotel.

At the outset I will tell you that you should not be surprised that the ice Hotel have a location so far northern norway, in the geographical region of Lapland.

This is logical because for its construction, and throughout the entire period of operation of the hotel, it must ensure a very low temperature, both at night and during the day.

What is an ice hotel like?

Butwhat is the ice hotel like?, and specifically the one mentioned Kirkenes.

Facilities Snowhotel They are located in a valley in the surroundings of Kirkenes, on the shores of a frozen lake.

There you will find what will seem like a succession of great igloos of ice, all in a row located on both sides of a central ice aisle.

The hotel is built each year to be ready for opening around December 20, ending the season around April 20.

How to build an ice hotel

To build an ice hotel, several balloons are lined up and inflated, and their entire surface is covered with about two metres of snow that has previously been produced with cannons.

The snow is compacted until it freezes, so that when the balloons are deflated, the spaces in the rooms remain.

What are the rooms of an ice hotel like?

In total, in this Kirkenes hotel they are arranged twelve ice rooms on each side of the central aisle.

Each of the rooms shows on its walls a different decoration, with sculpted figures, which, like the ice hotel itself, are created every year.

In this way, you may have to sleep in a room decorated with figures of animals, or Papai Noel, or cinematographic, such as Marilyn Monroe o Charlie, or with characters from children's stories.

The room is practically empty, as it only has the beds in the center, either two or four, which are placed together, each with its bed base, mattress and pillow.

I will also tell you that the rooms do not have a door, but rather a sliding curtain.

And you won't find anything else.

To sleep you will have to get into a huge thermal bag with resistance up to -30 degrees, which is more than enough considering that the temperature of your ice room will be constant at -4 degrees.

The rooms are illuminated with lights of different colors, which will remain on throughout the night.

Keep this in mind in case you need to use a sleep mask.

What common facilities does an ice hotel have?

This set of ice rooms is attached to a large wooden building where the main common hotel facilities, such as the restaurant, the rest room, the toilets, the changing rooms and the sauna.

The experience already begins when you arrive at the hotel.

What is the ice hotel reception like?

Before, they will have picked you up on a bus, well in the Kirkenes port if you arrive on the boat Hurtigruten, or in one of the central hotels in the city.

You will be welcomed in a small wooden house located at the entrance to the facilities.

This place is where the various snow activities that the hotel offers, such as dog sledding excursions or in snowmobiles, snowshoe walk.

There they will give you an explanation about the hotel features, at the same time they will offer you to taste a typical sausage which is heated over the fire of some embers.

Then walking you will go to the place where the ice Hotel, and you will enter through the main access door to the ice room area that I mentioned before.

At the ice bar At the entrance they will offer you a typical liquor and, later, you will walk along the ice corridor that connects the different rooms, where you can take photos.

Finally you will arrive at the entrance to the main wooden building, where you will be shown your room and given your sleeping bag, which you must bring to it.

La dinner takes place in the restaurant along with the other guests who are going to sleep in the hotel, all distributed on long wooden tables.

After tasting dishes from local food, with fish as the main protagonist, you can go to the rest room, to the bar... or to sleep.

What is the experience of sleeping in the ice hotel?

When going to sleep you should keep in mind that your suitcases will remain in a common room, but you will be able to use the shower changing room to change.

That's where you should put on the pajamas you brought.

Then at the entrance to the bedroom area you must take your head cap, some thick wool socks and a large sheet in the shape of a sack where you must get into to get into the sleeping bag.

already in your ice hotel room, when you enter the bag you must cover yourself almost completely, leaving only your face visible, and you can even cover your nose with your head cap.

I assure you that you will not be cold at all; What's more, there are people who can even get hot from the thermal bag.

Once you find the most appropriate position and adapt to sleeping with the light, you may not wake up until the next morning.

The real drawback you may encounter is that you do not have a toilet, not only in your room, but in the ice room area...so you will have to put up with it.

And even more so if, as was my case, you get a room at the end of the central hallway, far from the main building.

At 7,30:XNUMX in the morning they will pass by with a bell to wake you up... and it will surely not take long for you to get up due to the need to go to the toilet.

Finally the time comes breakfast, which takes place in a bar with splendid views of the frozen lake.

This way you will have completed your experience and you will be able to say that you have slept in an ice hotel.

How much does it cost to sleep in an ice hotel, prices

Sleep in a double room Kirkenes Snowhotel It costs 3.900 Norwegian kroner (334 euros) per person, including dinner and breakfast.

You also have the option of staying in one of the wooden huts which is also in the facilities of the Snowhotel, which are offered at a similar price.

In reality, the goal is not to have a hotel for several nights, but to live a very special experience such as that of stay in an ice hotel.

Thus, it is advisable to stay in one of the Kirkenes hotels to carry out your snow activitiesand king crab safari o snowshoeing.

Spend the night at the ice hotel It is one more of the activities that you can carry out if you feel like it and can afford it.

Ice Hotel in Alta

Finally I tell you that at northern norway You also have another alternative in the city of High all with sleep in an ice hotel.

This is the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel, which I have also known, although I have not had the opportunity to spend the night there.